WARREN TWP. – The Washington County Sheriff’s Office joined the Marietta Fire Department and Warren Volunteer Fire Department in search of human remains after a leg was found on the Ohio River bank Monday morning.

According to Sheriff Larry Mincks, the leg was seen by barge hands unloading oil at the Marathon refinery on River Lane just off of Ohio 7. A right tibia and fibula were seen connected to a New Balance black athletic shoe. Mincks said he believes the remains had been in the water for a long time as no tissue remained on the bones.

“It looks to be the leg of an adult male but we have not positively identified it yet,” said Mincks. “We’ll have a doctor tell us how long it’s been in the water.”

The fire departments went out in boats searching the water along the bank.

“They’re looking for more parts of the body or a body,” said Mincks.

Officers also searched the ground along the bank for other remains but none were found Monday.

“It may have been in the water for six months but it’s hard to tell,” Mincks said. “We’ve sent messages as far out as Coshocton and Pittsburgh but we’re waiting for leads to come in.”

He said no local people have been reported missing.

The leg will be tested for DNA at the Montgomery County coroner’s office under the authority of Washington County Coroner Dr. Kenneth Leopold and the case remains under investigation.

Cadaver dogs from Athens will be along the riverbank and out in boats on the river searching for more remains today.

Mincks said according to WDRB, a television station in Louisville, Ky., this leg’s pair may have been found Friday in Henderson, Ky. The station reported that a leg with no flesh and a shoe were found on the bank of the Ohio River Friday afternoon.

West Virginia Division of Natural Resources Officer Danny Dolin said no boating accidents had been reported on the Ohio River lately in the area.

The sheriff’s office asked that any persons with information contact the office at 740-376-7070.